Dom Perignon

The Story of an Abbot Who Became a Legend

Pierre Perignon was a French monk who belonged to the Benedictine order and who is associated, in a legendary and perhaps almost erroneous way, with the birth of Champagne. Born in 1638 in the town of Sainte-Menehould, in the Argonne region (next to the Champagne region and famous for its wood forests), he developed a passion for wine from an early age, thanks to the help he provided in the family vineyards. At the age of 30, in 1668, after a long period of religious and philosophical studies, he arrived at the Abbey of Saint Pierre d'Hautvillers and was entrusted with the role of cellerier, or rather the person in charge of the production of alcohol, which was a fundamental resource for the economic sustenance of the abbey at that time. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the French kings, who were crowned at Reims, made several stops on their way to Paris, including the abbey of Hautvillers. They would stock up on wine at this stopover, which meant that the monks would never be unexpectedly surprised and would always keep the best bottles for the kings who came to visit.

In this context, Pierre began to study the enological and production processes of wine in depth. Starting with the vineyard, he understood the importance of soil, exposure and climate. He developed a series of innovative and revolutionary ideas, based on the concept of maximised yields, precise harvests, perfect degree of ripeness and valorisation of individual territories (today known as Cru). He also decided to go further, introducing a new production of the famous gris wines of the period and proposing new labels, the blancs, which were made using a process of soft pressing, avoiding contact with the skins. He also discovered how blending different wines from various vineyards could lead to a higher quality result.

Legend has it that the monk, who was fascinated by a unique process that occurred almost by chance, realised that if he left the bottles for too long they would burst. So in the last remaining years of his life, between 1690 and 1715, he searched for a thick glass container and started creating corks. He bottled the wine and sealed it with his corks. The abbot understood how to transform a dry product into a sparkling one, thus inaugurating the current process of creating froth, or refermentation in the bottle with the development of bubbles.

However, associating Pierre with the official birth of the famous French bubbly is not entirely accurate, although it is safe to say that with his insights and inventions, the father of Dom Pérignon revolutionized the world of French wines, paving the way for the development of today's Champagne.

With the French Revolution, the abbey was virtually destroyed and abandoned. In 1829, Pierre Gabriel Chandon and Adelaide Moët bought the ruins and what was left of it, and restored it to what it is today: a sacred site for man and wine, which is still open to visitors.

The figure of the monk Pierre, who was buried inside the church, is commemorated today with a statue at the entrance to the headquarters of Moët Chandon, the famous French sparkling wine producer. The company also paid tribute to him by establishing the Dom Perignon winery, which today represents a brand of great luxury and elegance, famous throughout the world.

The Dom Perignon Bottles

Whether the story of the abbot is legend or reality is still not known today. According to recent discoveries, sparkling wine was already known prior to the monk's birth. Nevertheless, his figure undoubtedly set the standards for the production of sparkling wine and the techniques for quality wine-growing.

The recipe dates back more than three centuries and is still the basis for the production of every Champagne. Among these, Dom Pérignon is an outstanding worldwide excellence and a global institution. As well as being dedicated to the legendary figure of the abbot, this winery embodies the purest essence of the famous French bubbly.

The name was chosen in 1936, with the release of the first Dom Perignon bottle by Robert-Jean de Vogue, who was president of the Moet & Chandon company. It was an unprecedented edition made with the best reserves of the 1921 vintage and featuring a replica of the bottle used by Pierre. Success was guaranteed and in a few years it conquered the world, being defined by the scholar Laurence Venn as the first "Prestige Champagne".

Today, Richard Geoffrey, a great chef de cave and master of the art of blending, follows every phase in the creation of the bottle, from harvesting to bottling. The grapes used are the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay Grand Cru varieties, with the exception of the Premier Cru Hautvillers and Vertus.

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